Story Behind The Song
Irish-Canadian singer/songwriter Irish Mythen and Icelandic troubadour Svavar Knútur were approached by Folk Music Canada to co-write a song to celebrate international relationships and communities. They got together on Zoom and had a couple of very nice cowriting sessions where they discussed their common histories and the links between their countries. This is the result of that collaboration.
Song Description
A song about the meeting of Irish and Icelandic immigrants, each coming from a place of oppression and poverty, telling their stories as they travel to America looking for a new life and hope.
It's a pretty straightforward story and a straightforward song, although there are a couple of interesting rhythm changes.
| Song Length |
4:05 |
Genre |
Folk - Alternative, Folk - Contemporary |
| Tempo |
Medium Slow (91 - 110) |
Lead Vocal |
Duet Male/Female |
| Mood |
Exultant, In High Spirits |
Subject |
Freedom, Ocean, Sea |
| Language |
English |
Era |
1800 - 1899 |
Lyrics
I left my home on an Autumn day.
Turned my face to the ocean grey.
Shed my life for a chance to be free.
Hang onto hope on a treacherous sea.
To look back again on this land of mine,
to have my heart and beguiled.
What lies ahead can't be a mistake
and day by day another Yankee wake.
O'er the seas we go.
Say fare thee well so long to the world you know.
Oh the hell we'll raise,
when fortune guides us over furious waves.
When fortune guides us over furious waves.
They say hope is a fickle thing,
but I'd rather hope than face another frozen spring
I'd rather brave the ocean's rage,
than safely starve another day.
The devil you know or the devil you don't,
A hangman's smile or a pastor's doubts.
For hope is a thing we can't afford,
I won't leave my luck in the hands of the lord.
Over the seas we'll go,
Say fare thee well so long to the world we know.
Oh the hell we'll raise,
When fortune guides us over furious waves.
When fortune guides us over furious waves.
All I'm brining along with me,
a tiny branch of my family tree.
All we've lost and all we've known,
we'll plant anew and watch it grow.
Over the seas we go.
Say fare thee well so long to the world you know.
Oh the well we'll raise,
When fortune guides us over furious waves.
When fortune guides us over furious waves.
I say o'er the seas we'll go.
Say fare the well so long to the world you know.
Oh the hell we'll raise
When fortune guides us over furious waves.
When fortune guides us over furious waves.
When fortune guides us over furious waves.
When fortune guides us over furious waves.